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Holyrood model for post-war Iraq

SCOTLAND’S relationship with Westminster is to be used as a model by Iraqi Kurds seeking to build federal links with a post-Saddam administration in Baghdad, writes Neil Rafferty.

The Kurdish community of Northern Iraq believes it can learn from Scotland’s devolved settlement, in particular how to make the most effective use of its powers without surrendering too much authority to the national government.

The Kurdish parliament, established in 1992, has been operating, with international protection, outside the control of Saddam’s regime. But senior Kurdish politicians are preparing for a new role as an autonomous region within a federal Iraqi republic.

The Kurds say the working relationship between Holyrood and Westminster will give them a route map for establishing devolution.

Close links between the Scottish and Kurdish parliaments were established last year after an official visit to Edinburgh by Dr Rowsch Shaways, the speaker of the Kurdish parliament.